Border Of Life And Death
by babybahamut
Summary: Arriving at an important decision, Yukari realises her time in Gensokyo is coming to an end- but she has some dominoes to set up first.
1. Chapter 1: Ran

More often than not it was a worthless bunch of rags, but on rare occasions the Bunbunmaru Newspaper was of some merit. Yukari was re-reading the day's issue for the third time, attempting to separate embellishment from fact; 'NEW YOUKAI TEMPLE LANDS IN GENSOKYO' the headline boldly declared, the image alongside it showing a rather flustered monk in front of what appeared to be a temple Yukari hadn't seen before. The headline's use of the word "LANDS" had piqued her curiosity most of all, temples rarely being seen flying about from place to place, but the article explained that matter. It described how Gensokyo's courageous and beloved shrine maiden, Reimu Hakurei, accompanied by two other humans who were unnamed throughout the article, had given chase to a mysterious 'treasure ship' seen flying over the Human Village. She had read the article enough times to know what was coming next, yet Yukari's grip still tightened as she read how the ship had taken them to the depths of Makai; just the name alone was enough to leave a bitter taste in her mouth, and the thought that anything in Gensokyo was still able to enter it after Reimu had sealed the entrance years ago was a worry.

The part of the article she felt needed dissecting most, however, was towards the end. After a fierce battle, so the article reported, Reimu and company unsealed a monk from ancient times- Byakuren Hijiri. She was the one who had set up the temple, and in a hastily-given interview at the article's closing said that she intended its use for both human and youkai visitors equally- in the hope that both could live side by side in harmony.

Byakuren Hijiri. It was a name Yukari recognised, though it took some jogging of her memory before she remembered why. The Byakuren Hijiri of her memory, from many centuries ago, was indeed a monk, but not one allied to humans at all. In her younger days, she had heard tales of a once-human monk who had turned on humankind, and was offering covert assistance to youkai in trouble. In a time before Gensokyo, as humans were gaining greater and greater powers against youkai and beginning to hunt them to extinction, such a being was highly revered among youkai; but one day, she simply disappeared. Forgotten by the humans, and eventually most youkai too, Yukari had sometimes wondered if there was any truth to her tale.

Now, a person fitting the description had appeared, but rather than the anti-human angle she was known for, apparently advocated equality? Yukari was skeptical, especially given she had been found sealed away in Makai of all places; most inhabitants of that world followed the beliefs of its Goddess, and she was not renowned for her kindness to humans.

Also of note for Yukari, and she couldn't help but smile as she realised it, was Reimu's reaction to the whole thing; here apparently was a powerful magician talking of equality between humans and youkai- a belief unthinkable to all before Gensokyo's creation, and even afterwards rarely held by the shrine maidens- but rather than attack and seal her away again, as any of her predecessors would have, Reimu saw fit to release her. It was not the first time Reimu had shown a slight sympathy to the youkai whose world she shared.

"It's her, isn't it," Yukari spoke quietly to herself, lowering the paper. "I can't put it down to fluke any longer." She stood and stretched; daylight was just starting to creep over the mountains, the sky turning an inky blue. On a normal day she would have retired for the morning, but she had just come to an important decision, and it required immediate action.

"Ran." Yukari approached her shikigami companion as she prepared breakfast. "I'm going out, Ran. Complete your rounds as usual while I'm gone. Although... perhaps don't go to Hakugyokorou, for a few days at least."  
Ran stifled a groan. The last time Yukari had meddled at Hakugyokorou, she was the one who had taken the blame- and the beating- from the shrine maiden. Knowing it was a futile exercise to bring that up again, she instead challenged Yukari's intent. "It's nearly daylight, though. Are you sure?"  
"I'm afraid it can't wait," Yukari explained with slight impatience. "I have made a decision, you see- or rather, the decision was made for me, years ago, but I have just decided to acknowledge it." Ran was curious, but Yukari had already begun her exit, and besides which she didn't want to be accused of slacking. At least staying away from the Netherworld for a few days would give her extra time for her many other chores.

"One last thing, Ran," Yukari called over her shoulder as she prepared to leave. "At some point today I will be in extreme danger. You are not to come, under any circumstances, to my aid- even if the connection between us breaks. Do you understand?"  
Ran raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Yukari finding herself in extreme danger was a routine enough occurrence that Ran doubted she would have responded anyway; in a way, it was nice to be given advance warning this time.

Taking Ran's silence as tacit acceptance, Yukari stepped outside, and allowed herself a moment to consider her first task. She needed to speak to Byakuren first; her sudden arrival could spell trouble later on, and regardless she wanted to know exactly what had happened in Makai that day.

She took flight, not wanting to use the power of the Gap for fear of startling her quarry, and with an urgent pace made her way towards the Human Village. Ran never saw her master again.


	2. Chapter 2: Myourenji

"Well, isn't this unusual?"  
Yukari regarded the small human with curiosity as it cowered back against the rocky wall: the cave was shallow enough that the light of day was enough to see by. "I chose this place because I thought no human ever came here, after all."  
"Get... get away from me!" the child shouted, its voice quivering with fear. The human seemed to be female; Yukari was no expert on human biology, but it appeared to still be in its larval stage- no, not larval; _childhood_ they called it- and hadn't yet begun transforming into an adult.  
"How interesting... You say 'get away from me' as though _I_ am the tresspasser," she chided playfully. In truth, she had little claim over the cavern; it was neatly tucked away in the mountains near a human village and provided her a good vantage point to watch their comings and goings, and was far enough away from the shrine that she could avoid any trouble. Humans rarely came this way, and the craggy mountain edges covered her well enough that any sightings of her were only brief, forgotten to other distractions or written off as mountain wildlife. Local legends of "the witch in the mountains" helped keep the cave undisturbed, and it gave her no small amount of satisfaction to be the likely origin of these horror stories.

Yukari took a step closer to the child, but stopped as she dropped to the ground with a wail and covered her eyes. "D-don't come any closer!"  
Yukari smiled, slightly. Most humans displaying such bravado would at least _try_ to look intimidating. "It's almost as though you fear yourself more than you fear me. Well then, little human, what will you do if I don't leave?"  
"I might-! You might- get hurt!"  
Yukari froze for a second, and then relaxed; she could sense something unusual about this child- some strange energy within her, a kind of magic that humans rarely exhibited- but it wasn't like the power the shrine maidens held; their magic was designed to hunt and destroy youkai, while this child's power felt more akin to her own- supernatural in origin, more like a youkai's black magic. She decided the child posed no threat, and called her bluff. "I doubt you would be able to- oh!"

For a fraction of a second- just a flash- Yukari felt a sudden erratic burst of energy come from the child. It struck her but passed harmlessly, like she had been caught by a spiritual gust of wind. "What was that?" she hissed, ready to strike back if she was in danger. "What power did you just use on me?"  
The child shot a sudden, fearful glance at her, eyes wide and shining with tears. "It- it didn't hurt you?"  
"I didn't ask that." She stepped closer, shoulders squared, reading what she could of the girl's boundaries- normal, no different from any other human, except this one magic she couldn't place.  
"I- I don't know what it is! I can't control it!"  
Yukari's eyes narrowed. "Have you done it before? To other humans?" The child nodded quickly in answer to both questions, withdrawing ever further into herself. "What happens to them?"  
The girl huddled into herself, her answer barely audible. "They fall down..."

Yukari stared at the child, her anger turning to surprise. The power of death; of course it hadn't affected her. But the child had killed, at least once, and Yukari was now darkly aware of a different threat to both of them; she strode to the open cavern mouth and scanned the edges of the mountain for any vengeful humans or shrine maidens who might be looking to exorcise her supernatural ability. She took a steadying breath as she saw the mountainside was empty; the human village appeared to be functioning as normal too, the people there apparently having not yet realised one of their number was missing. Her attitude calmed, she came back to the frightened girl. "I wonder, then," she began, her usual demeanour finally returned, "whether you are here to protect the others, or yourself." The girl didn't respond, but Yukari hadn't expected her to. "In either case, you needn't worry about _me_. A trick like yours would only hurt humans, after all."

The implication behind her words seemed to confirm some new fear in the child, and she instinctively drew back in fright. "My my, are you really one to judge?" Yukari said derisively as the child trembled. "You've been responsible for more human death than I have, I'll have you know." This didn't seem to help her case at all; she chastised herself for forgetting how readily humans over-estimated the amount of danger they were in, and tried a different method of reassurance. "I can't speak for others," she began, "but despite what your kind believes, I'm happy to leave humans be... though I will protect myself if I must," she said with a dark glance at the child. "More importantly, in your case," she said, her thoughts already elsewhere, "have you thought about how you're going to survive here?"  
The child looked at her blankly, a clear no. Yukari sighed, and with a swish of a hand, opened a horizontal Gap in front of her. A spurt of water gushed out, and with it, up popped a fish. She deftly caught it and in the same motion closed the Gap before the whole river emptied into the cave. "Humans... eat fish, yes? I've seen them with their nets, and I don't think fish are useful for anything else." She threw the wriggling fish down in front of the girl, her eyes wide with a mixture of horror and amazement.  
"I will offer you a deal," Yukari continued as the fish bounced around. "The shrine maidens are as dangerous to you now as you are to them, and they will treat you like they would any youkai. As long as you promise not to tell anyone about me, you may stay here in safety with me. Agreed?"  
The girl nodded quietly, relaxing only slightly as she began to trust Yukari.  
"Ah, thank goodness we've sorted that out." She sighed with relief, the formality of the contract vanishing as she leaned casually against the cavern wall. "Well then, a drink to celebrate-" a bottle fell neatly from a Gap into her waiting hand- "and, assuming you have one, would you tell me your name?"  
"Yuyuko..." she whispered, looking warily between the bottle and the forgotten fish.  
"Yuyuko," she repeated, holding the open bottle out to her. "And I'm Yukari. Pleased to meet you."

-

Chapter 2- Myourenji

Yukari watched the temple from afar, hidden in a house she knew to be empty. It didn't seem the humans from the village were quite ready yet to give the temple a chance; a few curious bystanders whispered to each other in suspicious tones, taking glances at the temple and quickly averting their gaze, while harried parents ushered their openly and loudly curious children past it, and those brave enough to get a closer look quickly reconsidered any time a resident youkai emerged from within.

These youkai were an assorted bunch- a mouse, a nyuudo and his handler, and a karakasa Yukari recognised as the one who had interrupted her journey here; on occasion the ghostly former captain of what was once a ship could be seen floating about hard at work, and some sort of shapeshifter seemed to be having difficulty staying out of mischief, struggling to contain herself with so many humans nearby to scare.

The main draw, of course, was the monk; she made regular appearances outside the temple, both to welcome the few newcomers who dared to approach, and to make requests of the youkai who were already there. She seemed gentle, and well-respected by the youkai, each request met with an emphatic nod and immediate jump to action. The temple itself was bare-bones as expected, and the youkai were working hard to convert it down from a ship. Outwardly, at least, there was no cause for suspicion.

The morning sun was in full force now, and as several of the youkai had retired for the day Yukari felt the time was right to make her approach. Byakuren would likely talk more openly without her friends close by, and Yukari's presence would deter any would-be human visitors. She strode through the village, parasol open against the harsh sunlight, paying no heed to the humans as they scattered out of her way- either recognising her by sight or immediately able to identify her as a youkai; she had long ago stopped fearing what they might do to her for being so bold.

The monk noticed Yukari's approach, and politely dismissed the tiger-striped youkai she had been speaking with to go out and meet her. "An unusual time of day to see you," she spoke, bowing slightly in modest greeting, "but nonetheless, welcome to Myouren Temple!"

Yukari met her gaze, and drank in every detail, physical and magical, about Byakuren Hijiri, the hero and villain of the stories she had heard long ago. They rang true, from her unusual hair to her bold presence and voice; commanding, powerful, and full of conviction, but fair, genuine, and kind; the kind of person who could lead an army of ten thousand without dissent and yet be considered a friend by every member. Yukari had no trouble seeing why the humans under her watch had revered her.

Yukari looked around nonchalantly, deliberately avoiding eye-contact with the monk when she spoke. "This is a temple for youkai?" she asked.  
"A temple for all comers, both human and youkai," Byakuren explained without any hint of impatience. "Although," she added, raising a hand to her chin and frowning slightly, "as you probably noticed while you were watching us, we haven't really had much luck enticing the humans to visit us yet."  
Yukari's eyes flicked towards her. It hadn't been said with any kind of malice, or even smugness, but it troubled her nonetheless. "Dear me... I thought I was better at hiding than that," she said.  
Byakuren smiled. "One of our youkai residents is a mouse, very good at scouting; she has asked her friends to tell me if they see anyone approaching so I can be ready to greet them."  
"Ah! I wonder if she would make a good play mate for Chen. Our cat," she added to answer Byakuren's quizzical expression, not necessarily intending it as a threat, but nonetheless unable to resist playing a game of one-upmanship.  
"Oh, cats are sweet," Byakuren answered serenely, apparently taking no notice of the implication. "But I think Shou might get a little jealous if Nazrin made another feline friend. Our tiger," she finished.  
"Hm, that wouldn't do... Perhaps they would all behave themselves under the eye of Reimu. My shrine maiden." She didn't mention Ran, feeling a fox wasn't really a match for a tiger.  
Byakuren laughed, and raised her hands in defeat.. "I hope so! Reimu has already schooled me once, I wouldn't want them to give her a reason to do so again."

She had opened this opportunity quite by accident, but Yukari seized the chance to question the monk while it was available. "You battled her in Makai, and yet she let you go... I bet there's quite a story behind that."  
"A simple misunderstanding," Byakuren said confidently, taking Yukari by surprise with her readiness- as though she was waiting to be asked this. "The world was a very different place before I was sealed away- Youkai were being destroyed from all sides, barely able to fight back. Fighting for equality as I do naturally meant battling against the stronger side."  
"And the first thing you see upon release is a flustered shrine maiden flying at you! No wonder you were defensive."  
Byakuren nodded. "I understand now why she took my words the wrong way; things are the other way around in Gensokyo. But she spoke boldly of her job exorcising youkai, and I took it as a sign nothing had changed. I had no idea such a paradise existed. A world just for youkai!" Her face lit up, unable to quite conceal her excitement. "I would never have dared dream of such a place before I was sealed away, but humans and youkai really do live side by side here, don't they?"

It was a subtle hint, but it was exactly what Yukari had been listening out for; Byakuren spoke of striving for balance, but it was her choice of words that betrayed a bias towards youkai that Yukari thought troubling. She recalled the stories; they told of more than just a subtle bias. She pressed on, intent on revealing the monk's true intentions while she had the advantage. "You weren't always so concerned for the humans though, were you?" she said, her eyes glinting as she dealt the blow. "Or did _they_ benefit from that shipwreck, too?" Byakuren's smile dropped, and Yukari stuck the dagger in as far as it would go. "Yes, I know the stories, Byakuren Hijiri. All youkai of our time know the stories. The fallen monk, the youkai hero, who secretly turned on her friends to aid us from behind the scenes."

Byakuren's arm raised against her chest defensively, and she lowered her head. "...I don't know exactly what stories were told about me," she began quietly, but still calm, "but I won't deny my actions were certainly to the benefit of one party over the other. The humans sealed me away for a reason, after all." she seemed to regain her stride, and took Yukari's gaze once more. "But a thousand years in solitude gives one lots of time to reflect," she said with another grim smile.  
"A thousand years in _Makai_," Yukari spoke back, her eyes narrowing; her usual lackadaisy was gone from her voice, every word now pointed and venomous. "And like everything else marred by that toxic world, you stink."  
Byakuren had come to expect such childish insults from that one annoying ice fairy who kept flying in and out of the temple, but from Yukari it was a shock; the rug pulled from under her feet, she could only stammer a response. "I... pardon me?"  
"You, your story, and every word you speak, they all stink of _her_."

That had done it; Byakuren inhaled sharply, her eyes widened in shock and she covered her mouth with her hands. The monk stepped closer; now it was her turn to avoid eye contact. She lowered her tone, additionally muffled by her hands, but she couldn't disguise the minor tremble now in her voice, distinct from her usual confident way of speaking. "How much do you know?"  
Yukari smiled, triumphant; the cat had caught the mouse, and far quicker than she had anticipated. Now it was time to sow the seeds for the rest of her plan. "I know she's an enemy to my Gensokyo," she began; her whimsy was returning now she had cracked the shell, though every word remained serrated. "And if you're in her pocket, you're an enemy too."  
"No," Byakuren answered hotly. "I have no association with her."  
She denied it like an insult; good to hear, but easily faked, and Yukari wouldn't be convinced so easily. "Born human, but now a youkai... that was her doing. Your boundaries... her stench is unmistakeable."

"Please..." Byakuren began, her voice strained as she considered her position. "You aren't mistaken, I see no point trying to tell you otherwise, but there is much more to the story than that. Might we move somewhere less public? It's not something I want to bleat from the rooftops."  
"Ahh, but this spring breeze is so pleasant... it'd be terrible to waste it indoors," was Yukari's answer, as good as a no; the journey would allow Byakuren too much time to think of a story, and there could be any number of youkai within who would provide the monk cover enough to escape- and the opportunity would be lost with her.  
"...Very well," Byakuren said, dropping the notion surprisingly quickly by Yukari's reckoning; it seemed she didn't have any intention of trying to escape. Byakuren took a steadying breath and considered her words for a second. "Yes, that power was hers. But if you know her well enough to tell, you know the kind of person she is. I was tricked into- no, not tricked... I won't shrug off the blame entirely." Although Yukari knew Byakuren couldn't deny it, she hadn't been expecting quite such frank honesty; it was disarming, but she let Byakuren continue her story. "I was... _manipulated_ into taking her power. A human at death's door, fearing her own mortality, and she came to me promising eternity... I had already made my own unsuccessful attempts beforehand- I would have listened to anyone offering me an answer."  
"Why, how sweet of her," Yukari said, "to give you such a gift without asking anything in return."  
"It wasn't without cost," Byakuren answered, picking up on the implication. "I would have agreed to anything, so I gave no thought to how she would have me repay the debt. The spell made me reliant on stealing the power of other youkai- oh, don't worry," she said with a smile as Yukari recoiled slightly, "I have that part of the spell under control. But at the time, my survival relied on gaining the trust of any youkai I could. Any spare power would be siphoned off to her, and with my position of trust among humans I was to turn any lost souls I could to her."  
"My my, so the stories were true after all," Yukari said calmly, showing nothing of her mile-a-minute thought process. "I suppose I owe Suika a drink. Although, that bet was placed on the stories of a youkai_ hero_, not _villain_, so..."

Byakuren nodded solemnly. "I certainly wasn't a hero. I did many terrible things- the temple behind me is the result of one of them," she gestured behind her, hoping to have chance to recount Murasa's story another time, "but as time went by something changed. I had always thought of youkai as the enemy- something to be destroyed; but I came to realise youkai and humans were not much different. Youkai were hunted because they disrupted human lives, but equally, humans disrupted youkai lives. With human settlements expanding constantly and the growing threat of the shrine maiden-"  
"And the monks," Yukari added coolly.  
"And we monks, indeed. Whichever side I fought for was to the destruction of the other. So I began to envision a world we could share, harmoniously."  
"Ahh... but humans are selfish creatures, always wanting more to themselves. They won't even share food- sharing the world?""  
"My idea wasn't well received, no," she said, laughing mirthlessly. "When my actions were discovered they turned on me. I tried to tell them of my vision, but they only saw me as a traitor- which I was," she said quickly, interrupting Yukari who was about to say the same thing. "I told the youkai I had come to care for to flee, handed myself over to the shrine maidens to aid their escape, and a thousand years later..." she spread her arms demonstratively, her story complete.

Yukari's mind raced, piecing together this new story and sifting through for any obvious untruths; humans were usually terrible liars, but Byakuren had been open and honest and convincing. This was only the first half of her test, however, and served little purpose other than to confirm what Yukari had suspected. The meat of the pudding would not be found in history, but in events to come, and having tilled the soil of Byakuren's past, it was now time to sow some seeds. "If she came calling once more then," she asked as a lead-in, "you would renounce her?"  
"Yes, of course," Byakuren answered, with a slight hint of curiosity which she then expanded on. "But you ask as though that's something likely to happen. Reimu didn't mention her at all- is she really so present a threat?"  
"Actually, they did battle once. But... you know how humans are. They blink an eye and they've forgotten already," Yukari replied. "I suppose Reimu considers the matter dealt with. As for why she's such a threat..."

She sighed, allowing herself a second to think how best to explain her position. It was entirely possible Byakuren was still an enemy, despite any protest to the opposite, and this attempt to appeal to her would fall on deaf ears. However, any attempt to win her over was worth a try, even if the most it achieved was a moment of self-doubt; if it struck in the heat of battle, that second of hesitation could cost her the fight. "You say your power is that of other youkai," she began, and her eyes narrowed with suspicion as she said it, as though afraid Byakuren might suddenly devour her entirely. "But you know that isn't the case for the rest of us. Tell me," she asked, "how many other humans did you see in Makai?"  
"Oh, well, none, but-"  
"Even if you had been free to go where you like," Yukari interrupted, knowing Byakuren would protest ignorance, "the only humans you would see there are those uninvited and looking for power."  
"But that makes sense- Makai _is_ a world for youkai. Isn't Gensokyo the same?"  
"Gensokyo is a world where youkai can thrive," Yukari answered, unable to keep the hurt from her voice, though the question has been asked innocently enough. "Makai is a world only for the whims of it's creator. A creator bitter about how the outside world treats us, who would eradicate every human if she had the power to do so. The shortsighted idiot," she said, a sudden venomous tone coming to her voice. "Without humans to believe in, worship, fear, trust, thank, and blame us, we are nothing. A world for youkai _is_ a world for humans..."  
"...But she's persuasive enough that other youkai might forget that. Yes, I understand, now." She nodded, her brow furrowed deeply in thought. "What Reimu said, then... I can see her position more clearly now. Wayward youkai put the humans in danger which then puts other youkai in danger, right? But my own position is not changed," she said, looking Yukari sqaurely in the eye. "No matter who is the more dominant power, I will still fight for youkai and humans to be regarded equally. I would like to be on good terms with Reimu, but I will oppose her decisions if I find them unfair." Her words were resolute, but without any force; spoken only as a statement of fact and not a demonstration of bravado or delinquancy.

"What do you know of spellcards?"  
"Oh." The abrupt change of subject caught Byakuren off-guard, having presumably been preparing for some measure of backlash from her declaration of intent. "Well, Reimu told me the basics, and my friends have shown me some of their tricks. I had chance to practice some spells of my own in Makai, though."  
"In Makai? ...The spellcard rules affect Makai too?" Byakuren nodded to the affirmative, and Yukari gasped; the first genuine surprise of the day, and a happy one, she couldn't help but cackle as she mulled this news over. "Ahaha, of course, thinking it through it makes absolute sense, but..." she laughed again, her mood immeasurably lightened as she applied this turn of events to her existing plan of action. "I wonder... Reimu, you dirty little sneak, did you _know_ this would happen?"

Byakuren, who had been watching with confused amusement, started on this. "Reimu was involved?"  
"Oh, she's too modest, which is why she didn't tell you," Yukari said, almost sounding like a proud parent, "but the spellcard rules were entirely her idea."  
It was Byakuren's turn for a genuine surprise. "But the rules would only serve to weaken her position, surely? Why would she even agree to be bound by them, much less devise them herself?"  
"Ah, why indeed," Yukari answered wistfully. "Why would the shrine maiden, gifted power that allowed her to charge into the world of demons and defeat its ruler without a worry, place a limit on herself? Why would the one expected to defeat youkai think of a way to do so without destroying them? Why would the shrine maiden, champion of Gensokyo, come up with a system where even the lowest youkai might challenge her and win?" She gave the monk a knowing smile as comprehension dawned on her face. "It's a shame I've had to spell it out so plainly, you know. Watching you both come repeatedly to blows, fighting for exactly the same thing from opposing sides, would have been a lot of fun. Ahh, but time is short, and I am here for a reason, after all."

Dramatically, she stepped forwards, and lowered her voice. "I've told no one else of this, but I've decided to trust you," she lied.  
"Thank you?" Byakuren responded, curiosity again tugging at the end of her voice.  
"Reimu- and all of Gensokyo, really- must prepare for an invasion. Soon." Another untruth; Shinki was a warlord by nature, and another attempt at invasion was inevitable, but Yukari spoke with an urgency she couldn't guarantee... yet. Stoking that particular fire came later.

Byakuren inhaled sharply, and tilted her head back. "So that's why you're here," she said grimly. "I'm sorry to waste your journey, but I'm afraid you already know more than I do. The only company I had in Hokkai were the shadows; I wasn't privy to anything outside."  
"No no, I assumed as much, or you would have told Reimu straight away, wouldn't you?" she said, a snake-like grin with it, unable to resist another bite.  
"Yes, I would... but I'm wondering why you haven't."  
Yukari's grin deepened, a worthy opponent like this being a rare gift; even so cornered, Byakuren was unshakeable. "Reimu is... well, she's human, so completely unreasonable. Her "shoot them down first and invite them to tea afterwards" methods don't really endear her to youkai, even if we understand how important her role is. If she was forewarned of an attack, she'd probably lead the battle alone again. It wouldn't take much to turn Gensokyo against her... unless she had a powerful ally with a lot of youkai influence."  
"You want me to unite the people behind her banner nearer the time, then?" Byakuren asked pointedly.  
"Ahh, you catch on too quickly... It's so much more fun to lead Reimu along."  
"This is all sounding familiar, that's all," she smiled, cheerless. "But at least you're asking me to do it for a greater cause than my own. If I start gathering youkai in secret, though, Reimu will only turn on us again."  
"Oh, she'll never _trust_ you. But she could hardly hold it against you if you resolved a few incidents, could she?"  
Byakuren's hand went to her chin in thought for a second, followed by a click of her fingers. "That's perfect!" She announced. "The humans would see we don't mean to cause trouble, and I could direct the youkai I defeat here too- yes! That suits both of our needs, thank you!"  
"I feel like I owe you, so I'll give you a headstart. Something will be happening in Hakugyokorou soon," Yukari offered.  
"Not-" Byakuren began in alarm, but Yukari cut her off,  
"No, no, not her. _This _mischief will be my own, and my last. Consider it a welcoming gift."

Byakuren opened her mouth to protest any misdeed being performed in her honour, but caught herself as another part of Yukari's words stood out. "Do you mean to say you're going to start a life of innocence?" she said wryly.  
"Goodness no! The boredom would kill me. Simply put, by the end of today I will have done everything I need to do; it's the end of my time here." She said it with no sadness or gravitas, but Byakuren, born human, frowned. Whatever misgivings she might have had for Yukari's fatalism she kept silent, however.  
"That explains a lot," she said instead. "It seemed like you were passing the baton. Will the Border survive without your supervision?"  
"...You're a sly one." Yukari's eyes narrowed; she was oblivious to the hypocrisy. "I never told you who I was. Have you known this whole time?"  
Byakuren nodded, unashamed of the apparent deception. "I thought I should wait for you to introduce yourself, but considering you're short of time- yes, I know who you are. Reimu told me to expect you. She told me all about you, actually, with some help from Marisa. "

Yukari considered this for a second, then smiled, warmly for the first time. She was unsure whether or not Byakuren could be trusted, being so clearly blessed with no small amount of cunning and guile, and openly admitting to having used it for evil in the past. Ultimately though it didn't matter: Whether Byakuren turned out to be truly with Gensokyo or still loyal to Shinki, Yukari had set up her dominoes to fall to her design regardless. Indeed, the monk's wiles provided at least some comfort that, either friend or foe, Reimu would not be left in peace after Yukari disappeared. "They had only good things to say about me, of course?" she asked.  
"Oh, er," Byakuren said, an awkward sideways glance answering for her.  
Yukari, however, was amused. "Then all is as it should be." She took to the sky, content that this conversation was over. "Wait one week," she called down to Byakuren, whose hand was on her brow to shade her eyes. "You'll find a fox in Hakugyokorou. She's the one; attack her with all your strength."

Byakuren called a farewell, but Yukari was already on the move. She flew directly skyward, still reluctant to use the power of the Gap without urgent cause; she preferred to save any energy she could- that conversation with Byakuren was going to be the easiest she would have today, and the least likely to result in violence. The Human Village already a small square in the patchwork of the world below her, she prepared to break the news of her imminent passing to the residents of Hakugyokorou.


End file.
